1. Englisch lesen

One of the most usual hobbies is reading. There is a wide variety of written material – just take a closer look.

Romane

Did you ever think of getting the novels by your favourite (BE)/ favorite (AE) British, American, Canadian or Australian author in his or her native language? Many of the big book stores offer new publications by famous writers in their native language at the same time the German translation comes out – or even earlier.

A nice side effect:

When the latest John Irving novel “Letzte Nacht in Twisted River” is published in Germany as a hardback book, you can get the original in paperback at about half the price or even cheaper.

If you find it too challenging to start with a brand new novel, why not reread an older one, one you enjoyed reading in German several years ago, in its original language? You will be surprised at how much you really do understand because you already know the story. You will automatically pick up a lot of new vocabulary as you go, too.

Zeitschriften und Websites

Another great source of native English writing is daily or weekly newspapers. Have you ever thought of reading a news magazine like Newsweek? It will keep you up to date with political affairs around the world and you will be able to talk about recent economic events and topics using perfect, up-to-date vocabulary. With Newsweek you would be getting the US issues and points of view, but there are also many British news magazines available.

Websites

All the big British newspapers such as The Independent, Guardian, Times have websites where you can easily check current affairs, which might be very helpful if you have to prepare for a meeting. You can use this source for every single home country of your company’s visitors and prepare for small or even big talk.

Even when you use the English website of Wikipedia you can learn a lot, not only about the key word you are checking but about the language as well.

The same is true for lyrics, if your hobby is music. Why not research the lyrics of your favourite pop song on the net?

2. Englisch gucken

For some of us to start reading again after a long day of reading and writing is not as relaxing as watching a movie, but it is too much effort to go out to the cinema during the week. A nice alternative is watching a DVD. No matter whether you buy or rent one, most have the option to choose the language. You just have to select “English”, and if you wish you can select “subtitles” as well.

In the beginning it may be comfortable to select the German ones, but after a while the English will be helpful and support you in understanding while listening.

The internet offers further access to English movies. If you are waiting for a film to come out in Germany, why not watch its English trailer online? It will be on the internet the moment the movie starts in England or America.

3. Englisch hören

And if you prefer to give your eyes a rest after work, you will find a wide choice of audio books. Novels, short stories, specialist books, no matter what you are interested in, you can get it all in your foreign language No. 1. Just close your eyes and listen!

And if the only thing you want is to relax, you can get meditation CDs in English as well!